With today being 1/11/11 I thought that I should look back on 2010 briefly and what was accomplished. Its really not about the accomplishments themselves, but the journey to get there.
What I am really most proud of is all the training I've done day in and day out....90% of it alone. People often ask me how I do it alone....its all about setting a goal and determination. You have to want to do it and do it for yourself. Obviously I'm past my athletic prime and I've accomplished enough in my younger years to be happy. So I'm not out to prove anything to anyone, I do it for me, I do it for health reasons, and to be honest it gives SO much back to me...health, increased energy, friends I meet, competition, etc.
My SCY season was fantastic. Each meet I dropped time and each time I swam an event I started to remember how to pace it. It all ended at SCY Nationals at GA Tech (my "end goal" meet) with several medals....far exceding my expectations.
For Open Water it was a good first half of the summer as I was still in good shape from just coming off Nationals in May. I was a member of a 3-man relay that completed the "Swim Around Key West" that was 12.5 miles in 91-degree water. Then I ventured to the SC coast and was 1st overall in the Beaufort River Swim. A few weeks later I won my age group at the GA State Games 5K. Finally in November I swam and completed my first 10K OW swim in Alabama. I learned in that race that I don't like 10K....5K is really a MUCH better distance for me unless I specifically train for it.
This past fall and start of winter has been basically a holding pattern for me. With nothing to train for and no goals I pretty much decided just to keep swimming through it...not killing myself, but not sitting on my arse either.
Now that it is January 2011 it is the start of the SCY season and my time to start the "ground and pound" as I call it. Basically just training hard, getting back to eating right, running, weights....all those "core" things you need to do for all around fitness. Its not alot of fun, just hard work and soreness, but gives you a foundation for the rest of the season.
As far as goals for 2011, my main goal will be train towards the USMS LCM National Championship at Auburn in August. SCY Nationals are in AZ and at present will just not be able to afford that trip. I might shave for a SCY meet in the Spring (possibly St. Pats at Dynamo), but I'm not 100%. Have thought about going to Y Nationals in Ft. Lauderdale, but I just can't commit to that at this point with my employment situation not on firm ground.
For OW, I have no goals for this summer. I hope to do the Beaufort Swim again in SC with Carlton Bruner, the GA State Games, and maybe either the River Rat swim in Chattanooga or the Death Valley 5K in Clemson, SC.
This year I also turn the BIG 40 in June so I will be aging up, meaning I'm actually at the top of my age group (swimming against older guys!). I hope to swim a bit less this year in actually yardage per workout (avg more like 3500-4000, rather than 5000-5500) and do a little more running, sit-ups, and just "other things". I feel like I know what to do in the pool without having to do so many yards. Mainly, I'd like to drop down my weight to around the 200-210 area this year.
So with that, its pretty straight forward.....train and train some more for awhile! Happy New Year to all! Here's to a better 2011 than 2010!
Jeff
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